Arsenal will have plenty of changes from their midweek clash as Mikel Arteta will bring key players back into the fold against Brighton.
Mikel Arteta shuffled his pack for the midweek game against PSV while retaining some of his key stars. He will ring in the changes for the crunch Premier League clash between Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates, with a host of regulars set to return.
Arteta getting an all-clear from the FA charge for his comments after the Newcastle United game took centre stage at his pre-match press conference. The Spaniard also provided an update on the fitness of his players since the midweek clash. He also spoke about the team’s ability to bounce back after a defeat.
Speaking on the latter subject, Arteta said, “We will try to play our best. We love winning and the team is desperate to do anything it takes to win games. We showed that against Aston Villa when, in my opinion, we were the better team and should’ve won the game. We will try again against Brighton, who will make life very difficult for us for sure.”
On the fitness of his players, he pointed towards Martinelli’s return from illness. Arteta insisted the Brazilian was in contention to face Brighton. He also confirmed a hamstring problem for Mohamed Elneny as the Egyptian went down in the second half against PSV.
Arteta continued, “Martinelli is feeling good. We have no other news apart from Mo. Mo had to go off because he felt something with his hamstring. We did a scan and it doesn’t look too serious so he’s going to be with us I think very soon, which is good news as well.”
Despite reports of Thomas Partey getting closer to his return, Arteta did not give up anything on the midfielder. Such has been the club’s stance since the Ghanaian suffered a muscle problem. Many unconfirmed sources suggest he could return to the squad for Sunday.
Arteta will make plenty of changes from the midweek encounter, starting with David Raya in place of Aaron Ramsdale in goal. Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko will return to the lineup. They will replace Cedric Soares and Jakub Kiwior.
Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are also pencilled in to start in midfield, while Kai Havertz might retain his spot in the middle. Arteta will overhaul his entire front three, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli all set for returns. Arsenal also have Emile Smith Rowe back in contention after his cameo in midweek, although he will retake his place on the bench.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
